


5 Times Peter Kept A Secret + 1 Time He Didn't

by ObservationalObsessive



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Gen, Minor Injuries, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-12 18:55:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11743104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObservationalObsessive/pseuds/ObservationalObsessive
Summary: "No more secrets."That was their big rule after May found out about everything.But no matter how genuine Peter had been in agreeing to that, it wasn't going to stop just like that.---Or 5 times Peter tried to keep a secret from Aunt May + 1 time he didn't.





	1. "I was fighting this guy who had a knife."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this late at night and didn't proofread so I apologize for any typos... I'll come hunt 'em down later. ;D

1

_ "No more secrets." _

That was their big rule after May found out about everything.

It had been pretty obvious that Peter had been lying to her for months. Once his secret was out, there seemed to be a flood of realization on her part. Still days later, while they watched tv or made dinner, she would suddenly smack her hand to her forehead and exclaim, "Oh, that time..." which lead to some situation where she'd known he was hiding something but hadn't known what... and it made sense now.

The concern was that sense it had been going on for so long, it would be hard to get out of the habit of lying and covering his tracks when he could. May wanted Peter to trust her and was determined to make sure they didn't have any more secrets.

She played a part in that too by making absolutely certain to never keep anything from him and to make a point of that. Even if she hadn't been the one lying all the time, trust was a two-way deal.

May really hadn't known how to react when she saw him in that suit... What was she supposed to do? She found herself asking the question aloud as she gazed at a photo of Ben. What would he have said?

The fact of the matter was that she had no idea. She could guess, sure, but Ben could be unpredictable and the more she thought of it, the more possibilities she came up with him. She could so clearly picture and hear him saying a number of different things about it and with so many different emotions. It was hard to be sure if she was just imagining Ben voicing her own thoughts or not...

Ultimately, it was up to her. It didn't really matter how many different ways Ben might've responded because he wasn't there. So May had to decide what to do on her own.

Realistically, she wasn't convinced Peter would stop even if she begged him too. And that suspicion was confirmed when she asked him for a reason.

No, he wasn't going to stop... He'd been doing it so long without her knowledge and he could keep going without her consent too.

All she would've done by telling him to stop would be pile more strain on their relationship. They had to trust each other... They had to be a team. So even though it was hard, May decided to support him.

There were some other rules too but the first and most strongly emphasized one was,  _ "no more secrets." _

But no matter how genuine Peter had been in agreeing to that, it wasn't going to stop just like that.

-

The most common thing for Peter to opt not to tell her was just the little details of what he did.

He'd tell her he'd taken a small hit and not to worry about it. He wouldn't mention the pain he was still feeling from it.

He'd say he couldn't sleep. He'd leave out the part where the reason for that was nightmares of being crushed under the rubble of a building.

He might tell the story of how he beat someone. He'd always leave out how terrified he'd been that he wouldn't win.

It was hard to really be mad about it, even though she knew what he was doing.

May was pretty sure it was equal parts wanting to spare her the painful details and just being too shaken to talk about it. She wasn't particularly fond of either of those reasons... but she couldn't be mad about them either.

So she let him think he was getting away with it most of the time...

Even then, she often found herself trying to open up places for him to just be honest with her. Then he wouldn't feel pressured or like she'd pried information out of him but he'd still say it. He rarely took those opportunities though. 

-

"I saw you on the news just before you came out," May said one morning when Peter shuffled out of his room for breakfast. He'd come in almost an hour past curfew but she was waiting to see if he'd mention it. "Busy night, huh?"

Peter tried and failed to hide a grimace as he nodded concedingly and took the plate of scrambled eggs she was holding out to him. "Yeah, I guess."

She hummed thoughtfully and picked up her own plate, coming to sit across from him and watching as he poked at the food with his fork. "You seem a little tired, sweetie. Sleep ok?"

"Yeah, yeah," he answered her, nodding a bit too quickly and making himself look up and flash a smile he clearly hoped was convincing. "I slept great."

His aunt nodded slowly, keeping her slightly narrowed eyes on him. She slid her glasses up on top of her head and rubbed at her eyes a little, heaving a sigh and then beginning to eat her breakfast. "I didn't sleep much myself. I'm still a little tired. I was trying to wait up for you... wanted to talk to you about something."

"What?" Peter questioned, eyebrows pinching together as he frowned, finally making actual eye contact.

"I forgot," she breathed a casual laugh and kept eating. "I got tired after a while. Your aunt's getting older, Peter. Not so easy to stay up late anymore," she joked, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. She could see the gears working in his head. He  _ knew  _ that his aunt was aware he'd broken curfew. But he still didn't say anything.

"Not that old, May," he grinned playfully, then turned his attention to his food and started to eat as well. 

They continued to eat with only the sounds of the city outside and the low volume of the news still playing on the television keeping the apartment from falling into complete silence. May continued to watch Peter curiously as they ate and he pretended not to notice.

He finished everything on his plate quickly and jumped up to go put his shoes on and head to school. 

"Hold it," she said suddenly, making him freeze on the spot. He actually tried to give her a confused look, as if she really wouldn't have noticed the wince as he stood up too quickly. "You're hurt."

"May, I'm not -"

"Can it," she cut him off, frowning at as she stood up as well. She gave him a gentle push toward the couch, prompting him to sit down while she went for the first-aid kit. "Just tell me what happened."

There was a beat of silence. Then he sighed in defeat.

"It's my side," her nephew mumbled. "I was fighting this guy who had a knife. I didn't notice it fast enough."

May was used to Peter not mentioning his injuries. He liked her to think they weren't as frequent as they were but she wasn't stupid. They only reason she didn't press him on it was that he  _ did  _ have an advanced healing rate, which meant the small scrapes and bruises he came home with didn't last long.

But when it was enough to still be causing any amount of pain by morning, she didn't appreciate him not telling her  _ something. _

"And you didn't tell me why?" May asked through a tired sigh as she settled next to him on the couch, perched on the edge to give herself a better angle. "Please tell me you at least cleaned it before you got in bed?"

The guilty look in his eyes answered that question.

"I thought it would be ok. Didn't seem too bad and I thought... you know, by morning it... I guess I was wrong," he admitted, lifting the hem of his shirt to reveal an angry slash just below his ribs.

It has clearly started to close up already, thanks to his healing, but it was still open. The skin around it was inflamed and she knew right away it was due to his not cleaning it. The plus side was that it wasn't currently bleeding.

"Tell me next time, ok?" She asked him softly, cupping a hand on his cheek and offering a smile to show him she wasn't mad. "I can't help much if you won't."

Peter nodded and smiled back a little. "I'm sorry, May."

He didn't tell her what had happened exactly and she decided not to make him. Instead, she let him prattle on about a movie he and Ned were going to see while she cleaned up the wound as well as she could and made sure it was properly covered. If she'd cleaned it thoroughly enough, it would be practically non-exist by the end of school that day...

Once it was done, she smoothed the fabric of his shirt back down and pulled him into a hug.

"No more secrets, remember?" She said quietly, her mouth right by his ear.

Peter nodded and hugged her a little tighter, though still noticeably making sure it wasn't too hard. "I know. I'll do better."

There were too many instances like that... He'd tell her some parts but keep quiet about the rest. If he wasn't actually hurt, she'd hint a little more and try and get him to say anything at all.

It was usually the times when he  _ was  _ hurt that she decided she didn't mind too much if he wouldn't tell her everything. After all, she'd tell herself, something was better than nothing and one day maybe it would be everything again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story doesn't have a super solid plan so I'll update tags and characters as I go. I have a loose idea for each chapter but I'm open to suggestions, even if I don't use them all. :)
> 
> Since this story is more to help me beat a small block than anything, I have no idea how soon I'll update it...
> 
> If you read my story, Thunder and Lightning, don't worry! I'm way ahead in the writing process so block or no block, you'll still get a chapter every Monday and every other Thursday! ;D


	2. "I think I just need more sleep right now."

2

Peter liked to think May couldn't hear it when he had nightmares.

The reality was that she just didn't say anything about it. She knew it was happening though.

It was tricky and confusing... May hadn't really known how to handle a lot of things as Peter had gotten older. She and Ben had always tried to give him his space and trust him to come to them if he ever needed or wanted anything. They didn't want him to feel like he  _had_ to talk to them about anything and they tried not to pry.

Still, sometimes she knew she had to just something. And so she did sometimes. But that didn't mean she didn't wrestle with her thoughts about it first. How could she know if it was right to say anything until after the fact?

But as a general rule, she'd let him be the one to say something. That was why it had been so hard to hear about how much he'd been keeping from her. It made her wonder if she'd been doing it wrong from the start since she'd always thought they were so open with each other. Maybe it would be better to just make him tell her things.

Add that to the concern of just making it worse when he was already panicking after a nightmare and it usually equated to May standing near his door and wringing her hands, wondering if she just go in.

She'd hear his gasping breaths and choked sobs as he tried to calm himself down after whatever it was that haunted his dreams. Usually he'd talk to himself; try and couch himself into a better breathing pattern.

"It's ok, Peter. Y - you got this. You got this. In - in and out. Just breathe. In... and out."

It was usually hard to tell if he'd fallen asleep again or just calmed down. Other times, the springs under his mattress would creak and he could be heard padding across the floor and pulling out his desk chair. Then she'd hear the flipping of pages and scratching of pencils or the tired sounds of his computer powering on again.

May was pretty sure he just didn't sleep anymore on those nights.

-

May hadn't even gone to bed that night. She hadn't felt particularly tired and had thought maybe she'd wait up for Peter. It was a weekend so she was going to offer to let him stay up if he wanted to watch a movie with her when he got home.

But then he didn't come home on time and after that she was staying up out of worry more than anything.

She'd tried calling but hadn't gotten an answer. When she called again, she realized she could hear his phone and he must've left it home, which meant she had no way to contact him. Naturally, that made her worry more. What if he was hurt and couldn't call for help?

It was nearing two hours past Peter's curfew when she remembered that he could make and receive calls from his suit. So why wasn't he calling?

What had made her think to go in his room then? She didn't know. But something made her think she should so she'd pushed open the door, which had been ajar already. 

"Peter?" She didn't really react any specific way. After sitting up worrying for so long only to open the door and see her nephew curled up under his covers... her mind just drew a blank.

Peter couldn't really be seen under his covers but after hearing his name, he uncovered his face and looked up at her. "Hey. Something wrong? You look upset."

She had to take a deep breath to collect herself before she answered, consciously making sure her tone was calm. "Why weren't you answering your phone? I called a few times."

"That was you?" He asked, his face scrunched up in confusion. "I - I'm sorry. I was just ignoring it because I figured Ned just wanted be to get online so we could play - wait, why were you calling me? Where were you? I thought you were on the couch."

"I... I  _was,_ Peter. I thought you'd gone out on patrol."

His head shook but he didn't say anything.

"Oh. Ok. Well..." She trailed off and frowned at the bundle of teenager and comforter on the bed. "You doing ok? Why didn't you go out?"

There was a beat of silence.

"I think I just need more sleep right now."

It wasn't that May didn't agree that he needed sleep... but Peter seemed to think saving people as Spider-Man should always take precedence over his own health. So maybe she was a little suspicious...

She flicked the light on, the room having been lit only by the light flooding in from the hall until then. The covers flew back over his face and he gave a quiet moan at the brightness.

"Come on, get back out of there," she prompted gently, crouching on the floor next to his bed, right beside where his head was.

The comforter inched back down so all May could see were Peter's brown eyes, currently rimmed red.

She sighed and brushed his hair back from his forehead, folding her other arm on the edge of the mattress and resting her chin on it. "What's bothering you? You know you can tell me anything."

"I'm ok," he told her, his voice shaky and thick. "Sorry you were worried. I don't try to worry you."

"I know, Peter. I do." Even though she didn't feel like smiling, May made herself give him a comforting one and leaning closer to press a kiss to his forehead. "I'll let you sleep. Just... don't feel like you can't talk to me, ok?"

Peter nodded and she thought he might've tried to smile back, though it was hard to tell for sure when all she could see were his eyes.

She left the room then but didn't get much sleep herself. Just in case he came out, she stayed on the couch instead of in her room. Even if he didn't think he wanted to talk to her, May wanted to make certain she was always available and that he knew it too.

-

The next morning, Peter was making a very clear effort to seem fine.

He pretended as if he'd only been tired and hadn't felt like going on patrol. It had nothing to do with being sad or scared or anything else. Of course he hadn't been crying.

Though she wished he would just tell her, May didn't push.

Peter wanted to be fine, so she let him. 

If he didn't want to tell her, she wasn't going to ask. Still, she knew something had been wrong. Probably that something still  _was_  wrong.

But what do you do when they won't talk about it?

Not knowing what had been upsetting him wasn't easy. May wished she could know and make it better somehow. But she didn't get to know and decided to try to help anyway.

So she spent the weekend taking every opportunity to hug Peter or kiss his cheek and tell him how loved he was. She got him to sit and watch movies with her, curled up under a shared blanket while they ate ice cream before  _and_ after dinner.

And by the end of the weekend, May thought maybe his smile was starting to reach his eyes again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got another chapter of Thunder and Lightning coming tomorrow so keep an eye out for that! ;D


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